One
of the amazing Monarch Butterflies' favorite winter
homes is a magical beach, lagoon and forest on the
northern edge of Santa Cruz.

Natural
Bridges State Beach has a Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary,
with a fine boardwalk trail into the grove. It is a
special place that has become a great source of local
pride. It was dedicated on "Welcome Back Monarch Day"
October 8, 1988. Funded by the California Park Bond of
1984, and Monterey Bay Natural Historical Assoc., and
built by the California Conservation Corps. The
Milkweed Demonstration Garden is in the fenced
enclosure next to the youngsters playing.

Monarch
arrive in late Summer for their Santa Cruz
overwinter.

The incredible 2,500 mile journey from Western Canada
is one of Nature's most epic events. Around Monterey Bay there
are three other notable winter homes for Monarchs: Lighthouse Field
a short distance south from Natural Bridges; Point Lobos at the
Whaler's Knoll; and the most famous at Pacific Grove

AMonarch Butterfly's
journey is an amazing feat. It is all the more remarkable
when viewing the wonder of creation and development of this
incredible critter.



Larva
-known as a Caterpillar- emerges from a Monarch Butterfly egg and feeds on
milkweed. Less than one-tenth of an inch long (2
millimeters) at hatching, the caterpillar is tiny but
very busy. It begins eating the leaf where it hatched,
and continues eating voraciously for three weeks, as it
grows to 25 times its original length, and 3,000 times in
weight. It grows so much that it has to break out of its
outer skin, a hard cuticle, and grow a new skin five
times during this three week period.



Then
it hangs upside down and becomes a pupa. This Chrysalis
-a tough little container - is where the caterpillar
makes a metamorphosis to a butterfly. The change takes
about a week.

These
three photos (including the one below of the Monarch
cluster) were taken by Randy Widera at
Lighthouse Field in Santa Cruz, between the town and
Natural Bridges State Park

On
a calm, sunny day, before noon, the new Monarch Butterfly
emerges. First they continue building their new bodies by
pumping fluid from the stomach to the veins. Then they
hang from a branch and stretch their new 4 inch wings,
and develop their sensory powers. The next morning, when
it's warm enough, over 50 degrees F., they flap their
wings, drop from the branch and flutter off to explore
their environment. They feed on blossoms and grow
quickly. Eating only fruit juice, water and nectar they
become astonishing aviators, capable of great distance
migrations.

For more Butterfly web sites, go to:
My Butterfly Collection The Gerald Mines site
with a great page about creating a garden for Monarchs
Soon!A page in PelicanNetwork for creating a Butterfly Garden with Native California Plants.
Join butterfly discussions
You can chart the Monarchs' migration (Canada to Mexico, primarily)
progress with observer comments at this site: Monarch Migration

Lighthouse Field in Santa
Cruz is a favorite for
Monarchs. Humans and
their dogs, or, it may be
the other way around, are
fiercely attracted to this
field, also. To get a much
fuller insight to this wildly
interesting location,
visit:
Lighthousedogs.com